Petraeus: Give Me Six More Months

The commander of US forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, wants to postpone a decision to significantly reduce troop levels there for another six months, reports the New York Times. The general, who is scheduled to begin testimony before Congress today, has told the president he is willing to withdraw one brigade—4,000 soldiers—as early as December, the Times reports.

A decision now on pulling out more troops would be premature because Iraq is in flux, Petraeus will argue. In a letter to his troops, Petraeus admitted that Iraqi political leaders had not taken advantage of the surge effort to make political headway and the situation “has not worked out as we had hoped.” But he claims US forces have achieved "tactical momentum" against the insurgency. (More Iraq stories.)